ESPN Hunting

For many wingshooters — particularly those in the Lone Star State — Sept. 1 is a date that's as cherished as just about any other on the year's calendar.

The reason, of course, like in many other states, is that it's the opening day of shooting in Texas for the flighty mourning dove — a diminutive gray ghost of a game bird that weighs mere ounces but still has enough supersonic zip to be an ammunition maker's dream.

That — plus the thought of a feast of dove breasts surrounded by bacon and a jalapeño slice, skewered with a toothpick, smothered with BBQ sauce, and grilled over a hot open mesquite flame — is more than enough to annually draw yours truly and thousands of my hunting kinsmen out for another dove season opener.

Last year, however, I had more than the usual incentive to punch the alarm clock on Sept. 1, don the camo and load up my cased shotgun into the pick-up truck.

That was because of a pre-dawn gathering with 60 other dove hunters on the campus of North Central Texas College in Gainesville for the annual NCTC Foundation Carl Zimmerer Memorial Dove Hunt.

Zimmerer, who died at age 31 in 1998, was the brother of Debbie Pounds, the vice-president for institutional development at NCTC.

After establishing a scholarship fund in her brother's memory, it didn't take long before Pounds' two good friends, Phil and Lisa Bellows of Gainesville, to hit upon the idea to host an annual fund-raising dove hunt to help endow the scholarship fund.

With the help of other enthusiasts like Jack Cable, the dream quickly became a reality.

"Carl was a very giving person who was always helping others, so I knew this would be one good way to honor him, because helping to give someone an education is one of the best things that you can do to help someone," Pounds said.

Lisa Bellows, who chairs the NCTC science department, believes that Zimmerer would be especially proud of the unique connection being made in his name between higher education and the outdoors.

"Carl would have been elated," she said. "He hunted, he fished, and he was a cowboy. He was very much an outdoorsman. I think it would have delighted him that his memory is living on through hunting and education."

The 60 hunters who gathered last year had plenty to be delighted about themselves, ranging from the pre-dawn coffee and doughnuts to the warm handshakes and back-slapping as old friendships were renewed and an another autumn of hunting action began.

Many of the hunters have participated in the memorial dove hunt every year since its inception, eager to pay the $100 fee to enjoy a day of dove harvesting, some good, old-fashioned Texas barbecue and the camaraderie of hunting with old friends … and all of it for a very worthy cause.

Having grown from an initial crowd of 30 hunters, last year's gathering helped to push the scholarship fund far beyond what had been initially dreamed of.

"Our initial goal was to raise enough funds to endow a scholarship at $10,000," Lisa Bellows said. "We thought perhaps in five years we could exceed $10,000."

With last year's fourth event, however, the scholarship fund broke the $20,000 barrier, ensuring that more scholarships would be granted beyond the six that had already been doled out.

One of the first scholarships granted actually helped a young NCTC student in more ways than one.

"This young man came to us without a really clear path to a career," Bellows said. "He made a connection through the hunt with Tom White of the (Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation). In fact, he even ended up spending two summers interning with Tom."

According to Bellows, that young man went on to Texas A&M University, where he was scheduled to graduate last December with a degree in wildlife management. "I think that he will continue to include hunting as not only a part of his livelihood, but also a part of his recreation," she said.

While the lure of red-hot wingshooting and Texas barbecue initially drew hunters afield, it's such warm educational stories that keep people coming back for more each Sept. 1.

In fact, while last year's hunting was somewhat subpar as compared to previous outing, Phil Bellows, a longtime Cooke County businessman, hunter and Ducks Unlimited volunteer, has no worries about the future of the annual scholarship fundraising event.

"I think people will keep coming back," he said. "One day, we hope to be having a 20th annual one of these.

As long as north Texans keep gathering on the first day of September to chase mourning doves, organizers believe that such a goal has a realistic chance of happening, all in the name of hunting, higher education and the memory of a good friend.

And you can take that to the bank — for the Carl Zimmerer Memorial Dove Hunt scholarship fund, of course.

For information on participating in this year's NCTC Foundation Carl Zimmerer Memorial Dove Hunt, which will feature fewer hunting positions than in previous years, contact Phil Bellows at (940) 665-0581 or North Central Texas College at (940) 668-7731.